I was reading Seattle 2072 the other day...and I noticed something.

It talks about acid rain.

In Seattle. Which, if I recall right, has nowhere upwind of it to get the acids in acid rain from.

So...where the heck did the acid rain come from?

It's a dystopian future right?

Seriously though I imagine Seattle as a massive urban sprawl, that especially built up and industrialized after the fall of the old United States, and North America. Turmoil, upheaval, lack of environmental laws, lack of enforcment, general mayhem-it all adds up.

But then you can always just ignore the possibility of acid rain.

Well currently the mercury all settles in Tacoma. Paul is right though, its a staple of the dystopian future. It would be worse in Pullyaup and better in Everett based on wind patterns.

But, but... *tear* If you ignore the acid rain, then how can I justify my character wearing a facemask?

Edit/add: and why does my computer show Penta, Paul and tete as all having joined on the 26th of February, 02? ("Joined: 26-February 02")

Older accounts ported over from a previous incarnation of DS. They all have the same join date.

Ahh, thank you. That was awful wierd for a minute there.

Part of it is the continuing ash-spill from Mt. Rainier to the south.

Doesn't Runner Havens talk about continuing ash output from a volcano? That would tend to screw up the pH of the water... Sulphur + H₂O = H₂SO₄ if I remember my chemistry.

If I remember my chemistry, don't drink the H2SO4!

It's also counter-indicated to use solutions of H₂SO₄ to:

• Bathe
• Wash your vehicle
• Wash your clothes
• Rinse out your eyes

Other things you shouldn't expose to sollutions of H₂SO₄ include, but are not limited to:

• Electronics
• Firearms
• Ammunition
• Food
• Magnetic Media
• Pets
• Baking Soda

Don't forget armor... your new nano-tatts... pavement...

As I remember, most common in acid rains are H2SO4 and HNO3. But i heard really interestig story. At castle in Cracow, domed chapel's roof is covered with a very thin layer of gold. My mother studied in Cracow in 1970's, and one day (next day after the rain) professor said to students that "a bit of gold from chapel streamed down". That means there was "king's water" (aqua regia) in the rain - mixture of HCl and HNO3, one of most caustic compounds known. Of course, it wasn't concentrated enough to damage people, and socialist (er, communist) apprat wouldn't let them know.

The Great Ghost Dance did it!

When in doubt, the Great Ghost Dance did it. Its like other settings "A Wizard did it". Fits anywhere.

(P.S, I am being semi-serious, its noted in a few places that the 2072 climate of Seattle is quite different from todays. Some say that it is a residual affect of the GGD)

Remember that the Seattle Metroplex is large, and even in current day Seattle we occasionally get acid rain in some locations. It's just that normally it rains so often that the rain is fairly clean, but after a dry spell the rain in the Seattle-Tacoma area can get pretty nasty, take it from a guy who works at a car wash.

I just know that the rain makes it impossible for me to keep my (black) car from looking clean. This is not a city to own a black car in.

In all seriousness, the whole acid rain thing isn't so impossible if you're willing to assume that shipyards in Bremerton (and other factories) are still going. Shit from Bremerton & Paulsbo blows right over Eliott Bay right into downtown seattle, so if there are more factories there in 2070, we'll have to suck it up. And given that the Salish-Sidhe have to have SOME kind of port-based manufactury, why not use an existing infrastructure?

Remember that clouds are still moving. So cloud including toxic gases can go a few hundred or thousand miles from , and "drop" the rain somewhere else. At some places rain comes often because of specific air circulation Example: clouds regularly come from somwhere else, and when they "hit" mountains, they fall down as a rain.

Chemistry, meteorology, and magic, all to explain something as simple as acid rain. God, I love this forum.

I think meteorology explaining acid rain makes sense.

Now, how do we use that acid rain to give beer a kick?

Aren't they tallking in the present time about all the pollution China is putting in the air and that the prevailing winds are going to eventually blow it eastward to North America?

I know the US burning coal was blamed for causing acid rain in Canada. Same for future China - UCAS?

These are all good reasons for some acid rain, but most of the rain will not be. Here in Seattle, we have prevailing westerly winds. The wind comes off the ocean and travels inland. When rain clouds hit the mainland, because elevation increases cause clouds to precipitate, they first dump the majority of their moisture on the west side of the Olympic Mountains, in the Olympic Rain Forest. There is then a rain shadow (a place that gets much less rain) that extends most of the way to Puget Sound. Crossing the sound, the air picks up more moisture. This would be the primary source of acid rain, as runoff from Mt. Rainier and the various other sources would spill into the sound. Seattle proper then gets hit with rain, but usually in small drizzles. Then the clouds hit the Cascade Mountains and drop the rest of their moisture, causing a very big rain shadow on the other side of the mountains that extends most of the way to Spokane.

As for ash spewing from Mt. Rainier, the vast majority of that will be blown to the eastern side of the Cascades. Seattle won't get much of it most days. There are, of course, exceptions, where the wind is blowing in from the south.

I'm just poking back in on this thread after a bit.



You guys make me proud.

Only problem is that prevailing wind paterns are generated by heat. We're already seeing dramatic changes in tropical rainfall due to increases as slight as a half degree in temperature. I have NO problem believing that something could shift those prevailing winds to bring the polutants down on greater Seattle. Heck, the heavy industry up to the NorthEast would have a lot to do with it, if they're adhering to typical 6^th World pollution control regimens...

And while most winds are westerly in the Puget sound, not all of them are. Where I live, which is well within where the Seattle Metroplex would be, we get almost entirely southerly winds, taking up some of the pollution from Tacoma and Puyallup. Naturally this can cause air quality problems, especially if it doesn't rain for awhile. Acid rain isn't unheard of, and really it isn't that horrible, except for cars and other sensitive things that get left out in the rain. Not a good place for a black or a white car.